Evidence Of Voter Suppression On Election Day Raises Concerns For 2018

Uncovered schemes on social media and at the polls dampen the celebration of high voter turnout on Election Day.

Many Democrats are still high-fiving each other about the voter participation surge on Election Day that swept their candidates into office. But the celebration has been dampened by evidence of attempts at voter suppression, which is causing concern for the upcoming midterm elections in 2018.

In one scheme, someone posted tweets falsely telling Democratic voters in Virginia that they could cast a ballot by text message, CNNreported.

The message was tweeted more than a dozen times and remained active for nearly three hours on Tuesday before Twitter suspended the account. That came after Twitter told the Senate Intelligence Committee that it actively searches for and removes misleading tweets that attacks elections.

Still, there were numerous reports of attempted voter suppression on Election Day via social media and old fashion methods.

Kristen Clarke, executive director of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, tweeted about a report of someone who appeared to be a police officer telling Latino voters in Virginia who to vote for.

The concern is real. Messages have been circulating that remind Democrats that dirty tactics at the polls helped to sweep President Donald Trump into the White House. They look back at Wisconsin as a prime example.